About six months ago I noticed two or three orange spots on my hood. They looked like the very beginning of rust. But I wasn't sure and I kind of scraped them with my fingernail and forgot about them (the scraping didn't make them go away, they stayed orange, but became smooth after scraping).

Yesterday I washed my car and took a close look at the roof and there are at least 30 of these! Has anyone else seen these little rust spots? My car is only 18 months old. Could there be another explanation?
Thanks,
Geoff

Hrm. Could be the result of "rail dust" that worked itself past the paint. Not sure.

I'd try claying it and seeing if I couldn't get that crap out of there, unless it's already too late ... then not sure what I would do. I clayed my I2 right after I got it, brand spankin' new, and it was surprising all of the crap I got out of the clear coat by claying it.

Nonetheless, there should be a warranty on the paint for a period of time for things that aren't self-inflicted.

Hrm. Could be the result of "rail dust" that worked itself past the paint. Not sure.

I'd try claying it and seeing if I couldn't get that crap out of there, unless it's already too late ... then not sure what I would do. I clayed my I2 right after I got it, brand spankin' new, and it was surprising all of the crap I got out of the clear coat by claying it.

Nonetheless, there should be a warranty on the paint for a period of time for things that aren't self-inflicted.

Hi,
Thanks for that reply. Long story short, it is rust. Honda is claiming it is "environmental factors" that caused it. There are hundreds of these little rust spots on a 18 month old car and they are blaming me, basically, for driving it! I took this issue up to corporate customer service and their basic attitude is to blame the victim. I feel like I've been dealing with 70's GM or Ford rather than Honda. Unbelievable!

Hi,
Thanks for that reply. Long story short, it is rust. Honda is claiming it is "environmental factors" that caused it. There are hundreds of these little rust spots on a 18 month old car and they are blaming me, basically, for driving it! I took this issue up to corporate customer service and their basic attitude is to blame the victim. I feel like I've been dealing with 70's GM or Ford rather than Honda. Unbelievable!

How are they blaming you for driving it? I think you're leaving out some important details.

How are they blaming you for driving it? I think you're leaving out some important details.

Hi,

I did leave quite a bit out. Wanted to get right to the point. But since you asked, I'll be happy to spell it all out...

So here goes. I first noticed two little orange spots on the hood about 6 months ago. They stayed orange even after washing and scraping with a fingernail. I didn't know what to do and put them in the back of my mind until about a month ago (18 months into ownership of my white 2010 Insight), I took a close look at the roof. There are at least 200 of these little spots. There are also a handful of spots on the front and back side fenders. Both sides. There are also about 30 rust spots on the top of the rear bumper.

I called the dealer (Honda of Santa Monica) and they said to go talk to their official body shop as they didn't do any paint work at the dealer itself. I took it to Anthony's Paint and Repair. The guy there said it was caused by "fallout." This, he explained, is when a car driving in front of you has a bad catalytic converter and spits out bits of hot metal that lands on your car and damages the paint enough that, over time, allows this rusting to develop. In my mind when I heard this I thought to myself, "OK, so the paint is so weak it can't handle being driven behind an older car?"

I didn't say anything and instead called corporate customer service. A guy named John handled my issue. He said I needed to go back to the dealer and have an official claim made. Also, the dealer needed to actually look at the paint. That seemed fair and logical, so I arranged to go back to the dealer at the time the regional rep was on site. I took some time off from work and skipped lunch to have Diane, the rep, look at it. I got there and she right away called the same body shop. They sent over a different guy. This time he said I had unknowingly driven by some kind of overspray that had damaged my paint and, over time, allowed these rust spots to develop. So, again, I got some kind of made up BS excuse. Diane also managed to squeeze in a little blame on all the environmental rules that make paints weaker nowadays.

Diane declared that the rust was due to "environmental factors." Which means that it wasn't a fault of the paint, paint mixture, or anything to do with how the paint was applied at the factory. Therefore, in her mind, it was not Honda's fault nor responsibility. However, in the goodness of Honda's heart, they would offer to pay for a free buff to remove the spots.

It's likely the buff will temporarily clear out the spots. But I have declined this as I believe they are only offering it as a way to buy time. A year later the spots will start returning and at that point Honda will just say "too bad, the car is out of warranty."

I've now owned two Hondas since 2002. My incredibly reliable 2000 Civic was the tipping point in me choosing the Insight over the Prius. Their thanks for this is to blame me for doing nothing other than driving a new car on the road! I pointed out to them that my Civic had the same exact driving habits for the past 9 years and never had one rust spot. It all fell on deaf ears.

I will never buy another Honda now. I had been holding out and hoping Honda would produce the electric Fit by the time I'm ready to go all electric. They can forget it now. And I will make it a point to search out any Honda related blog out there and tell them my story.

In my point of view, it's the users fault for not detailing/taking care of their car. Detailing the car will allow you to keep the paint nicely but if you don't, then don't complain. I doubt you clayed, wax, buff, etc. once or twice every year. And paint coming off can be due to bad car wash/liquids that you use in your car wash. But that's just my take on this, probably wrong though.

I have this car for 2 years already and no paint coming off/rust yet as I detail (fully) my car at least twice a year. Only paint that came off of my car was when I didn't see the piece of exhaust/metal on the highway, ran right into it.

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I'm not sure the OP is at fault. While I wax my insight at least twice a year, you shouldn't have to to prevent something like this from happening. Rust happens from the inside out; right? When i had it, I waxed my truck frequently and eventually rust spots developed but it took over 10 years. If he had paint chips that turned into rust spots I can understand Honda's position. But from what he described, it sounds like a defect in the painting process. I may be totally wrong.

If the rep really wanted to, she could have given the word and they would have taken care of it. He needs to go up the ladder.

I will never buy another Honda now. I had been holding out and hoping Honda would produce the electric Fit by the time I'm ready to go all electric. They can forget it now. And I will make it a point to search out any Honda related blog out there and tell them my story.

Don't write off Honda because you had a bad experience with some of its employees. You can get the run around from any car dealership.

If the rep really wanted to, she could have given the word and they would have taken care of it. He needs to go up the ladder.

Thanks for that. I'll try to find a way to go up the ladder. The customer service guy I was in contact with stated that Diane (the regional dealer rep) was the end of the line.

In response to runtohel121: I do take care of my care. I treat all the exposed black insulation and plastic with silicone based cream, but I don't clay and wax the paint. Where is it stated that constant waxing is required to prevent rust? Sounds like blame-the-victim to me. There are millions of cars on the road here in LA that never get waxed and never rust. (And by the way, LA is a DRY place. Not exactly a risky environment for rust!) My own 2000 civic was never once waxed and it has no rust. There is simply something wrong with the paint on this particular Insight.

I got a lemon paint job and Honda is giving me the 70's GM treatment. That is why I won't buy a Honda again. Not because I think all their cars are bad, but because I won't reward this behavior.

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